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Maryland's top health official told a Baltimore judge Tuesday that he should have asked for more money in this year's state budget to relieve a bed shortage that has prompted his department to turn away patients from state mental hospitals.

Van T. Mitchell, secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was summoned to court to explain why he and five other top department officials should not be held in civil contempt for failing to carry out court orders to admit criminal defendants in a timely manner.

Mitchell said he didn't get around to addressing the department's bed problem in time for this year's 90-day General Assembly session, which ended in...

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Maryland's top health official told a Baltimore judge Tuesday that he should have asked for more money in this year's state budget to relieve a bed shortage that has prompted his department to turn away patients from state mental hospitals.Van T....

Gov. Larry Hogan outlined a budget plan Thursday that would cut school aid to Baltimore and state workers' pay but preserve — at least for now — funding for two light rail lines.
The new Republican governor said his budget — with cuts to every state...

Republican Larry Hogan pledged to foster a culture of "tolerance and mutual respect" in Annapolis as he took the oath of office Wednesday to become Maryland's 62nd governor.
Elected on a promise to "Change Maryland," Hogan struck a tone of moderation...

The adjective Gov.-elect Larry Hogan applies to himself most often is "just" — "just" a small businessman, "just" a regular guy, "just" someone who was fed up with politics and wanted to make a difference.
As Hogan, 58, is inaugurated Wednesday as...

As Gov.-elect Larry Hogan and his team begin tackling the state's budget, they will soon turn their attention to one of its most pernicious challenges: Maryland's underfunded employee pension system.
The $45.4 billion system, which provides monthly...

Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan on Thursday painted a grim portrait of the financial house he'll inherit next year, saying Maryland needs "strong medicine" to end an era of outsized spending.
Hogan, citing the same financial numbers released by...

With Maryland's long campaign for governor now over, the unexpected election of Republican businessman Larry Hogan has given rise to an intense new campaign now just beginning: the jockeying among advocates and interest groups for attention, jobs and...

Merreen E. Kelly, a former Baltimore County administrative officer who earlier had been an associate superintendent of Baltimore County public schools, died of lung cancer Sunday at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 79.
The son...

Merreen E. Kelly, a former Baltimore County administrative officer who earlier had been an associate superintendent of Baltimore County public schools, died Sunday at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center of lung cancer. He was 79.
The son...

Leaders of Harford County unions say they are not happy to hear the county council wants to raise the salaries of future council members and the county executive by roughly 25 percent.The new legislation, introduced at Tuesday's Harford County Council...

Maryland officials approved $16 billion in contracts Wednesday that are intended to change the way state employees use health care by offering rewards for taking steps to stay well — and imposing penalties for refusing to comply.
Rewards would come in...

About 50 protesters rallied Wednesday outside Baltimore City Hall to object to a proposed study of the water system, a step they fear could eventually put the system in private hands.
The group, led by labor organizers and the nonprofit Corporate...

The Supreme Court didn't kill a key underpinning of public sector unionism Monday, but it surely put it on life support. The court's ruling in the Illinois case Harris v. Quinn, which related to the mandatory collection of so-called "fair share" fees from...

Out-of-state groups are pumping last-minute cash into the Maryland attorney general's race, fueling a barrage of campaign ads, including $240,000 in TV commercials purchased by a Florida-based fund that won't reveal its donors.The ads purchased by the...

Del. Jon S. Cardin, a candidate for attorney general, has accused two Baltimore lawmakers of intimidating a campaign volunteer and an anti-Cardin committee of violating campaign finance rules.In a letter to State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt over the...

Sixty city public housing residents and union workers staged a protest Wednesday against a plan to sell the housing to private developers.
Protesters fear the Housing Authority of Baltimore City's plan would lead to lost jobs, displaced residents and...

As negotiations on a contract for Howard County's more than 6,800 educators appear to be heading long into the summer, those involved agree on at least one thing: They would prefer the negotiations be open to the public.
But ask why or when...

Under the marble columns of Baltimore's downtown courthouse Thursday, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler joined about three dozen court staff protesting the working conditions inside.
Workers at the century-old courthouse have been...

The Howard County Board of Education announced Tuesday that it has reached tentative agreements with two of the four employee bargaining units and one association representing Howard County Public School System employees.
The school board has reached...

Earlier this year, the Baltimore Brew broke a story of a pilot program through HUD that would allow the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) to transition 22 public housing high-rises to private ownership over the next two years. Citing a lack of...